Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s group plans for genetic mapping to make a healthcare trend led by unsettling US startups like 23andMe more cheap and extensive in India’s consumer market.

The energy-to-e-commerce multinational with a comprehensive Rs 12,000 ($145) genome sequencing test has advanced the product. Reliance Industries Limited, led by Asia’s Billionaire, acquired the Bengaluru-based firm in 2021, owning about 80%. The genome test, back 86% cheaper than other aids available locally, can reveal a person’s predisposition to cancers, cardiac, and neuro-degenerative sicknesses, identifying inherited genetic disorders.

The project to fetch affordable individual gene mapping to India’s 1.4 billion people will possibly create a peach trove of biological data to aid the region’s drug growth and disease preclusion. It also merges with Ambani’s ambitions to dump further into the world of data called “new oil” as he pivots his $192 billion empire elsewhere, refining into consumer and digital facilities.

He said that about 86% cheaper genomic tests than locally available products could reveal a person’s susceptibility to cancer, heart and neurodegenerative diseases and identify genetic disorders.

While reports from 23andMe were bought for $99, its health plus origin reports cost $199. Complete genome sequencing for red health flags outlays $1,000 additional from Indian foes, MapmyGenome and Medgenome. The cheapest offerings from Chinese firms are low 599 yuan ($87) but may not map the whole gamut of sicknesses that Reliance-owned Strand goals to detect.

A representative for Reliance Industries did not respond to an emailed request for comment. Price disruption comes naturally to Ambani, who pursued a similarly brutal strategy after entering retail in 2006 and telecom in 2016, beating the competition before Reliance became the market leader.

According to Allied Market Research, the worldwide genetic testing market was valued at $12.7 billion in 2019 and is predicted to touch $21.3 billion by 2027. Reliance’s $145 price tag is a lot for the average consumer in India, where two-thirds of the population exists on less than $2 per day. With more genomic data, global drug makers could develop new drugs, gaining insight into existing therapies.